The most powerful V12 production car is (nearly) here: the €2.8m+ Zenvo Aurora

You might recognise the Zenvo name from the TSR-S supercar - a brutal-looking thug of a thing with a 5.8-litre twin-supercharged V8 and a multi-axis centripetal rear wing that tipped and twirled according to the steering wheel position. Internet catnip, seeing as it also produced 1,177bhp - which was headgasket worrying in 2018. But there’s something entirely new on the horizon for the Danish manufacturer, called the Aurora. And it’s as related to the TSR-S as a bicycle is to SpaceX.

A quick rundown of what we know so far. In 2023, Zenvo announced the Aurora (named after the borealis) a V12 hypercar that would arrive with two distinct personalities; the track-biased (but road legal) ‘Agil’ (agile) and the GT-bent ‘Tur’ (tour). So we’ve seen the be-winged Agil knocking about, but now we have more meat on the bones. And more reality, seeing as we’ve actually sat in both, and seen them bombing around outside the factory in Præstø, Denmark before they’re shipped to Goodwood’s Festival of Speed ‘26.

Both are completely bespoke items, based on a carbonfibre monocoque slathered in carbon bodywork. But while the Agil goes down the downforce route, the Tur is more grown-up and a deal more intellectually sophisticated. Vague interpretations of any mid-engined hypercar you care to mention, but the Aurora Tur does seem to have that lively mix of traditional forms and that extra special something.

Chief designer Christian Brandt (Royal College of Art and ex-Alfa Centro Stile), describes it with some passion, noting that the aerodynamicists were involved from the very beginning, and that the Aurora takes light inspiration from Danish furniture: it’s got Scandinavian simplicity and rigour, but with the more organic forms that make it a bit more…Danish. Like a sheet draped over the mechanical bits.

It makes sense in the metal. Low, confident nose with a bit of an arrow shape to it. Look from the side and it appears that the car has a short front overhang, but that’s a trick with the bodywork: rotate 20-degrees to the front and you’ll see a generous front splitter and nose-apex that’s about a foot and a half further forward than you think it is. Slash-cut headlights drive up and onto the front wings, giving it a quietly angry face - somehow it also looks like a Zenvo, while being nothing like any Zenvo that has gone before it. Weird.

The deep sills reveal a deep cut, both with front and rear wheelarch gaps through which you can see bits of the pushrod suspension (very racecar), and there’s some nice detail with a feature line that doubles back on itself along the sides of the car. There’s a flat, recessed roof scoop to feed the mid-mounted engine, and a long tail that slims across the width to give a less brutal form of aero. It looks good from above - waisted and sinuous. The rear forms almost two surfaces; the top bit with the exhaust slung under that longtail, the rest mostly aerodynamic gap. Bluntly, the detail resolves when you’re stood next to it - it’s even better in real life.

As for the more familiar Agil, the front is mostly airgap under the headlights - you can almost see right through the car - even more shrink-wrapped than the Tur. Voids are bigger, aero more aggressive, not least the chunky, dual-plane rear wing that has an active element. Although not the theatrics of the centripetal item. The Agil is more aggressive, more intense, more… of everything. But here’s where it gets interesting, because the Agil is the less powerful car.

Both versions of the Aurora get a 6.6-litre V12 with a 9,800rpm redline developed in conjunction with Mahle Powertrain. It’s a bespoke unit - so not based on anything else - and has the benefit of four, count ‘em, four turbos. It’s Euro 7 compliant and produces 1,250bhp. On its own. Making it the most powerful V12 ever fitted to a road car. The Agil gets an electric motor slung off the side of the back of the eight-speed paddlebox from Ricardo that adds both another 200bhp and the ability to smooth out slow-shifts when dawdling about. But the Agil is also only rear-wheel drive, and weighs around 1,360kg (full weights are tbc). That’s light. And very powerful.

The Tur adds another pair of e-motors to the front axle to give all-wheel drive, torque vectoring and another 400bhp. So that will be a road-biased car with 1,850bhp. As you might expect, the Tur is also the one with the lovely leather and fancy stitching. The monocoque feels like an almost double-bubble arrangement with plenty of room for shoulders (apparently modelled on having two of a Zenvo technician who’s built ‘like a Viking’ sat next to each other), and features a really pleasing lack of screens. They’re hidden though - the central dial of the triplet in front of the driver spins on its vertical axis to reveal a small monitor that can do sat-nav or screen mirror your phone.

Other than that, it’s a well-built, fun and interesting interior, with fabulous doors that take the sill up and away - even the footwell pillar is chamfered to swing your feet past. There’s a lot of thought gone into this. In fact, the only downside is that the A-pillar at the edges of the generously curved windscreen gives an enormous blindspot. Missing that apex might not be entirely your fault if you can’t see it, especially in the track-attack Agil, which goes heavy on the black Alcantara and features more reserved finishes.

As for the rest, you’re looking at 2.3 seconds to 62mph for the Tur, with a top end of 260mph. Zero to 186mph in nine. A weight of 1,548kg dry. The Agil will be slower (in context): 2.5 to 62, 224mph, but with 880kg of downforce at 155mph. So it’s not just an ‘R’ variant, but a totally different experience, Zenvo describing it as more like a McLaren Speedtail versus a Senna, rather than the differences between, say a GT3 and RS.

Whatever, it’s a big step for Zenvo. More scalpel than the usual hammer. And at €2.8-million plus local taxes, a chunky amount of change. But if the car can live up to the promise - it should be one hell of a ride.

Price: €2.8 million (plus local taxes)
Construction: carbon monocoque, carbon body
Powertrain: 6.6-litre quad-turbo V12 (1,250bhp), triple e-motors (600bhp)
Transmission: Ricardo eight-speed paddleshift
Power: 1,850bhp, 1,250lb ft of torque
Performance: 0-62mph in 2.3 seconds, 0-186mph in 9 seconds, 260mph top speed
Weight: 1,548kg (dry)